Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
BYU
Weber State hosts BYU Saturday night in Whiteout game
12/17/2021 10:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats and Cougars will meet at 6 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. First 4,000 fans will receive a free white t-shirt
• Weber State is back at the Dee Events Center for another in-state showdown when the Wildcats host BYU Saturday night.
• The game will tipoff at 6 p.m. and will be televised throughout Utah on KJZZ TV and will be streamed on ESPN+ with Dave Fox, Lance Allred and Tim LaComb on the call. WSU radio broadcast with Steve Klauke and David Patten will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave". Live stats at WeberStateSports.com.
• Saturday's game is a Whiteout for Weber State fans and the first 4,000 fans will receive a free white t-shirt courtesy of America First Credit Union and Young Automotive.
• Weber State enters Saturday's game with a 9-2 overall record. The Wildcats started the season with an 8-0 record, their best start in 36 years. WSU had wins over Duquesne as well as UMass, Ball State, Green Bay and Dixie State. They also opened Big Sky play with two home wins over Northern Arizona and Portland State. WSU suffered its first loss of the season at Washington State on December 8. The 'Cats beat Maine Fort Kent on Saturday before falling 95-80 to Utah State on Wednesday night. The Aggies shot 52 percent from the field and knocked down 15 3-pointers.
• Senior transfer Koby McEwen led the Wildcats with 26 points in Wednesday's game against Utah State, his second-highest total as a Wildcat. McEwen was 8 of 16 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers. On the season the Toronto native leads the Wildcats in scoring and is sixth in the Big Sky at 16.5 points per game. He is also seventh in field goal percentage at 44.4 percent and has scored in double figures in all but one game so far this season. McEwen spent his first two seasons at Utah State from 2016-18 where he was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2017. He then played two seasons at Marquette before transferring to Weber State.
• Freshman Dillon Jones had his seventh double-double of the season through 11 games on Wednesday. Jones tied his career-high with 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds in the game. He also dished out a team-high four assists. Jones now has seven double-doubles, which is tied for the second-most in the nation. He is averaging 12.8 points per game and is second in the Big Sky and 12th in the nation in rebounding at 10.4 per game. Jones, the 2021 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, is also fourth in the Big Sky in steals and is shooting 59 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line. He has been named Big Sky Player of the Week twice this season.
• Sophomore Seikou Sisoho Jawara, a preseason All-Big Sky selection, added 16 points with three 3-pointers on Wednesday. He is averaging 12.5 points per game and leads the Wildcats in assists at 3.0 per game. He has scored in double figures six times this season. Sisoho Jawara earned second team All-Big Sky honors last season.
• Wednesday's loss to Utah State snapped Weber State's 15-game home winning streak, which was the 10th longest active streak in the nation. The Wildcats were a perfect 11-0 at home last season.
• Weber State leads the Big Sky and is 31st in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.4 percent. However, WSU is shooting just 42 percent over the last five games. The Wildcats are 9-0 this season when leading their opponent in field goal percentage and 0-2 when trailing. WSU has shot 50 percent or better five times.
• The Wildcats are currently 24th in the nation in turnover margin at +4.6. The 'Cats have had fewer turnovers that their opponent in nine of the 11 games this season.
• WSU is 10th in the country in fouls per game, averaging just 13.2 fouls per contest.
• BYU enters Saturday's game with an 8-2 overall record. The Cougars opened the season with wins over Cleveland State and San Diego State, then upset 12th-ranked Oregon 81-49 in Portland on November 16. BYU was nationally ranked after that and began the season 8-0. The Cougars lost in overtime at Utah Valley, then beat Missouri State and Utah State to move to 8-2. They are coming off a 83-71 loss against Creighton last Saturday that dropped them out of the top 25. The Cougars are 2-1 in true road games this season.
• BYU is 21st in the country in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 26.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. The Cougars are also 36th in the country in rebounding margin at +7.8.
• Senior Alex Barcello ranks second in the West Coast Conference and 30th in the country in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Junior Spencer Johnson is averaging 8.7 points per game for the Cougars. Johnson originally signed to play at Weber State and was on the roster as a redshirt for part of the 2018-19 season at WSU before transferring.
• The Cougars were 20-7 overall last season and finished second in the WCC at 10-3. BYU was picked second in the preseason poll behind Gonzaga.
• BYU is coached by Mark Pope who is in his third season at BYU and his seventh as a head coach. He is 52-17 in three seasons at BYU. Prior to that he spent four seasons as head coach at Utah Valley. As a player he won a national championship at Kentucky in 1996 then went on to play six seasons in the NBA with Indiana, Milwaukee and Denver.
• BYU holds a 35-11 all-time series lead over Weber State, though one game was vacated by the NCAA. The Cougars have won the last two games, including a 87-79 win last December at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Weber State's last win in the series came on December 1, 2018, a 113-103 win at the Dee Events Center, which snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Cougars.
• In games in Ogden, Weber State is 11-10 all-time. Prior to the win in 2018, the Cougars had won the previous six games at the Dee Events Center.
• WSU is ranked ninth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
• Weber State was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason polls. The Wildcats were 17-6 last season and tied for second in the conference at 12-3. WSU returns four starters and 10 players off last year's team. WSU also welcomed four new players, including three Division I transfers.
• Head coach Randy Rahe made history in the November 21 win over Green Bay, as he won his 300th career game as head coach of the Wildcats. Rahe is in his 16th season at Weber State and is WSU's and the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in wins and games coached. He has a career record of 304-181 at Weber State and has led the Wildcats to five Big Sky titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has coached six Big Sky MVP's, including NBA superstar Damian Lillard.
• After Wednesday's game the Wildcats have face another marquee opponent for their final non-conference game of the season. Weber State will host Fresno State of the Mountain West Conference next Thursday, December 23 at the Dee Events Center. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. in what will be the final non-conference game of the season. WSU returns to Big Sky play at Montana State on December 30.
